Partner intimate touch is associated with increased interpersonal closeness, especially in non-romantic partners

Prause, Nicole; Siegle, Greg J.; Coan, James A.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0246065

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…We caution that future studies must elicit more specific descriptions because our data were not clear about the particular flavor of sex. We speculate that a comparison with orgasmic meditation, a female-focused sexual practice that incorporates contemplative components, may lead to important insights (Jamancar 2018;Losada 2017;Prause et al 2021).…”

Section: Regarding Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Activity Flow Propensity

Pritikin¹,

Schmidt

2022

Int J Appl Posit Psychol

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Originally defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, flow, also known as optimal experience, has often been studied from the viewpoint of personal factors such as psychological, physiological, and neuroimaging correlates. Here we investigated a situational factor: the flow propensity of physical activities. In a cross-sectional study, 987 participants were asked to compare two activities of their choice on 16 facets related to flow. Using a Bayesian model to accommodate the sparseness of these data, some large differences were found among activities. Running and martial arts were examples of activities that were ranked low and high, respectively, in flow propensity. The propensity to enjoy flow is increased by the selection of a complex, high stakes activity that offers demand flexibility and takes place in a complex environment. As an exploratory study, more work is needed to confirm and extend these results; potential refinements of items and procedure are discussed.

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Section: Regarding Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Activity Flow Propensity

Pritikin¹,

Schmidt

2022

Int J Appl Posit Psychol

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“…Orgasmic Meditation (OM) is a structured, partnered meditative practice involving manual stimulation of the clitoris. 1 In the 15-minute practice, one person strokes the clitoris of another "with no goal other than to feel the sensation." Even with orgasm in the name, practitioners do not expect or avoid physiological orgasm (for a description of physiological orgasm, see Ref.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…OM has been shown to increase interpersonal closeness between the partners. 1 In addition, people who practice OM, regardless of age, sexuality, income, or how they learned to OM, report a number of benefits including relationships, friendships, health, professional life, and spiritual life. 4 People who practice OM also report that the practice can trigger mystical experiences.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is orgasmic meditation a form of sex?: practitioners of orgasmic meditation view the practice as significantly more similar to meditation than to sex or fondling

Siegel¹,

Roth²,

Bolaza

et al. 2022

F1000Res

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Background: Orgasmic Meditation (OM) is a structured, partnered meditative practice in which one person, who can be any gender, strokes the clitoris of their partner for 15 minutes. As such, it resembles a sexual activity. OM is taught as a practice that is distinct from sex, and we wondered whether people who engage in OM actually maintain that distinction themselves. Methods: We conducted an online convenience sample survey including qualitative open-ended text questions and quantitative Likert-style questions that was distributed to email listservs for practitioners of OM. In the study, 414 participants completed the 30-item questionnaire including questions designed to differentiate the potentially related concepts of OM, seated meditation, fondling, and sex, as bases for comparison. Results: Participants reported that they strongly agreed that OM is not fondling or sex, giving an average Likert-type rating of 4.55 and 4.65, respectively. Participants disagreed most strongly with the statements “OM is Sex,” and “OM is Fondling,” with average ratings of 1.42 and 1.48, respectively (strongly disagree). There was also high disagreement with the statement “OM is not mediation,” with a rating of 1.53. Conclusion: The quantitative results of this mixed methods study show that OM practitioners view the practice as significantly more similar to meditation than to sex or fondling. These results were consistent, regardless of whether the question was asked in the positive or negative or whether OM was being compared to one behavior individually or to multiple behaviors at the same time. The distinction between OM and sex/fondling rapidly becomes more pronounced as practitioners complete more OMs. This suggests that the novelty of genital touching in meditation may diminish over time, as practitioners get used to the more alternative point of focus. The results of this study have implications for the practice and how it is approached and regulated.

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“…Orgasmic Meditation (OM) is a structured, partnered meditative practice involving manual stimulation of the clitoris 9 . In the 15-minute practice, one person strokes the clitoris of another "with no goal other than to feel the sensation."…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the roles of the partners in an OM practice are distinct (one is stroking, and the other is being stroked), both partners claim benefit from the practice, including improved intimate/romantic partnerships, friendships, physical health, mental health, professional life, and spiritual/religious life, regardless of age, sexuality, education, and income 11 . OM has been shown to associate with increased emotional closeness between partners 9 . In addition, OM practitioners report deep transformative experiences during and as a result of their practice 12 , some of a mystical nature 13 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Both partners practicing orgasmic meditation report having a mystical-type experience: results using the Mystical Experience Questionnaire

Siegel

Emmert-Aronson²

2021

F1000Res

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Background: Practitioners in a variety of spiritual/religious traditions have described “mystical experiences”, defined by a common set of qualities. The “Mystical Experience Questionnaire” (MEQ30) provides a validated and quantitative measure of mystical experience, and has been used successfully to demonstrate that the hallucinogenic substance psilocybin triggers a mystical-type experience. Orgasmic Meditation (OM) is a structured, partnered meditative practice involving manual stimulation of the clitoris. Although the partners in an OM have different roles (one is stroking, and the other is being stroked), both claim benefit from the practice. The aim of the current study is to use the MEQ30 to assess to what extent participants report mystical experiences during OM, and to what extent that experience is correlated between the partners. Methods: In Study 1, 780 participants completed the MEQ30 with a single powerful OM in mind. In Study 2, 56 pairs of participants (both partners) completed the MEQ30 after their next OM. If the respondent had a score ≥60% of the maximum possible score on each of the four subscales of the MEQ30, this was considered a “complete” mystical experience. Results: Respondents from Study 1 reported an MEQ total score of 3.35 (SD = 1.08), with 62% of respondents reporting a complete mystical experience. Respondents from Study 2 reported an MEQ total score of 3.21 (SD = 0.92), with 23% reporting a complete mystical experience. We found strong relationships between MEQ total score and role (i.e., stroker or strokee), interrater agreement within-group index (aWG) = 0.46, and an even stronger relationship between partners and MEQ total score, aWG=0.71. Conclusions: These findings suggest that OM can trigger a substantial mystical experience in both partners. Whether the brains of people who OM show similar activity changes to those having other mystical experiences awaits future study.

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Partner intimate touch is associated with increased interpersonal closeness, especially in non-romantic partners

Cited by 11 publications

References 109 publications

Physical Activity Flow Propensity

Physical Activity Flow Propensity

Is orgasmic meditation a form of sex?: practitioners of orgasmic meditation view the practice as significantly more similar to meditation than to sex or fondling

Both partners practicing orgasmic meditation report having a mystical-type experience: results using the Mystical Experience Questionnaire

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